College chief's funding fear

THE principal of the Scottish Agricultural College has warned that there will be an increasing number of potential students who will not be able to secure a place due to funding constraints.

Speaking at the Edinburgh-based college's graduation ceremony, Professor Bill McKelvey warned that SAC has reached the point where it will not be funded to expand student numbers any further. He said: "The funding cap on student places in key disciplines of applied sciences impacting rural issues needs to be raised.

"If the Scottish Government is really going to achieve its laudable targets for economic growth and environmental sustainability, we need to see a shift of funding to those areas which can have real economic and environmental impact".